PTU Summer Movie Preview

Ok, so summer technically started last week, appropriately on a day that approached 100 degrees in the shade in NY, and the summer movie season started around Memorial Day, but there's still a lot of popcorn to be popped in the next 2 months and change. Movies released at this time are notorious for being, well, garbage, but at the very least the theatre will be air conditioned. You've probably already seen the Avengers, but will anything come close to making as much as scratch as that movie did? Let's take a look at a couple of flicks that will be making noise at your local multiplex/arthouse/African guy's sheet on Atlantic Avenue during the dog days.

The Amazing Spiderman


I was as big a Spiderman fan as there could be growing up, at least until they did all that business with the clones and Peter Parker's parents, and Aunt May died, etc. I was a big fan of the first two Sam Raimi directed Spider movies, but I'm a little skeptical about this one (that's not an official clip from the movie above). Franchise reboots are nothing new, of course, and Marvel had some luck with the Hulk reboot a little while ago. But the first Hulk movie was a piece of shit, so it was more of a Ed Norton starring do-over than anything else. Starting a franchise over that was already a success seems pointless (although I know what the point is). I'll probably still see this, but am not really too excited about it.

The Expendables 2


Once you get past the stunt casting of having every action star ever besides Steven Seagal in one movie blowing shit up for nearly 2 hours, you were left feeling kinda empty. Maybe it was the fact that the plot was thin, or the acting was Dolph Lundgrenish. Or maybe it was just that Chuck Norris wasn't in it. This movie's going to be awesome on HBO on a Sunday when you're hung over.

Magic Mike


With the release of this movie and the world domination of 50 Shades of Grey, horny girls are so in right now. If your girlfriend or wife told you she didn't want to see this, she's a liar and not to be trusted, break up with her tomorrow. This movies going to make 8 zillion dollars this weekend, and maybe 12 of those dollars will be from a straight guy, who only accidentally bought a ticket because he thought it was called Magic vs Mike the story of the 91 NBA Finals. It won't matter if no guys want to see this though, because unlike horny dudes, who prefer to be horny by themselves and watch women strip on computers lest they be met with a thousand judging eyes, and shame wash over them, women will go see this movie in PACKS. It's going to be girl's night out at the AMC. And since it probably cost 30 bucks to make, it's going to be a huge success for Stephen Soderbergh, Channing Tatum and the rest. Never underestimate the buying power of the horny woman.

The Watch


Funny story about The Watch. It was originally called Neighborhood Watch until actual neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. Ok, it's not funny at all, but the movie looks like it could have it's moments. With a cast like Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Ben Stiller there's bound to be a few LOL moments. And at least Adam Sandler's not in it.

To Rome With Love


Woody Allen's latest continues his Europe fetish. I love Woody (no homo) but as any one who's ever seen The Curse of The Jade Scorpion can tell you, his output over the past 20 or so years has been spotty. Recently, he's had more luck with the European set films. There are still a few clunkers in there, but Match Point was cool (even if it was just a remake of Crimes and Misdemeanors without the comedy) and Midnight in Paris was his biggest commercial success ever, as well as critically loved. Will To Rome be more vintage Woody or another dud? I could see Jesse Eisenberg doing a neurotic Woody impression all movie being annoying (also Roberto Benigni is in this), but reviews have been mostly positive.

The Dark Knight Rises


You know you're going to see this. Don't even front.

Arkham City: More of a digital comic than a video game (Game Review)

In Arkham City you become the Dark Knight in every sense of the word, with the occasional disguise as Bruce Wayne.

The game's visuals are stunning and the environmental detail is amazing. As an appreciator of art and a fan of Batman, I was floored. The environments that one can explore are enhanced with a great soundtrack and a neat feature that's introduced at the beginning of the game: eavesdropping on the conversations of Arkham City's prisoner population. Everything about the game gives the impression that your partaking in something great, with one exception, the game-play.

Arkham City immerses the player in a universe that is subtly menacing. Criminals wax nostalgic about cutting people in half and assaulting powerless women, while at the same time fantasizing about rising to power via torturing Batman. It provides one with a solid rational as to why the Dark Knight is so dark and angry. At times you'll catch yourself in the middle of performing a morally questionable action, but any sense of repulsion is discarded once you remember what your goal is and who it is that's in the way of achieving that said goal. Like the Dark Knight, you'll be forced to examine your actions and even sometimes wonder what your own true motives are.

You'll break bones, cripple, and become the reason that criminals are afraid of the dark. You'll also go toe-to-toe with almost all of Gotham's most notable criminals - no matter how obscure they happen to be. On a personal note, Arkham City served a dual purpose: 1) Catch me up with the goings-on of the Batman world, and 2) allow me to re-visit what I had already known about the series (you can actually explore the alleyway where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed).

Arkham City is a massive game with what seems to be too much to do. It's main story is magnificent and has great voice actors lending their superb talent to the project. The one area that the game falls short in is combat and clumsy action controls. There were times that I meant to punch someone and ended up pushing a button that I was next to, resulting in me/Batman getting shredded with bullets from assault rifles. At other times I was making a hasty dash across roof-tops and instead of climbing a fence parkour style, I ended up rolling off of the roof. 

In game, the Bats seems to dole out punishment randomly with some criminals going down at the flick of wrist (Is Batman really that strong?) and others requiring about ~30 fist slams (Is Batman really that weak?). I'd pull away assault rifles from would be assailants with a grappling gun only to have them pull another gun out of thin air to continue firing at me. I'd try and stealthily take out watchmen one at a time only to have another watchmen instantly know that his comrade was down without even being close to the point of my attack. All these things added up and really made the Dark Knight seem like a clumsy baby on the battlefield. That being said though, combat was still relatively easy. Maybe too easy. I found myself many times foregoing the use of the many gadgets in Batman's arsenal (probably because of the clumsy controls and game-play), and just going fist first into a group of 12 henchman without a worry. Sure I'd get hit every now and then, but when I accidentally unlocked an achievement for racking up a 40 hit combo, I started to scratch my head (Aren't achievements supposed to be somewhat difficult to unlock?).

For all of these reasons I would claim that Arkham City feels more like an interactive comic than a video game. It's a story that you just so happen to be pacing with your play-style.

I give Arkham City 4 Sickles out of 5.

It's a game that pleases despite it's control issues.